I have had the inkling of a similar idea so it’s great to see that you’ve actually developed this index. I particularly loved the first AC: measure with existing available data. That is often my battle cry when I approach a new problem
or role.
I will stay tuned for future developments and iterations. I hope someone with the matching skill set and enthusiasm takes this framework forward in a public space/dashboard.
I think your are on the right track here, and I had some thoughts:
1) I think the term "Bullshit Job" (I read the book) was intended differently by David Graeber. He used it to mean, not necessarily a job where you can slack off (though sometimes this might also be true), but a job for which even the person who does the job cannot tell you how it benefits society. I think it has more to do with alienation and a lack of meaning, than lack of demandingness. An overly demanding job Graeber simply calls a "shit job." But, if a person has economic agency from other sources, they probably wouldn't agree to work a Bullshit Job.
2) While I think the current Supreme Court is problematic, I also think the judiciary branch was intended to be appointed rather than elected, so that's judges wouldn't have to be "political" in the sense of having to campaign for election. I seem to remember having too write an essay about Federalist papers No. 78 at some point. See:
3) Crypto mining currently generates lots of emissions. How could so much blockchain technology be setup so as not to add to sosrent drains on the environment?
Thank you for your thoughtful engagement with the article! I appreciate you taking the time to dive into these topics, though I think there may be some misunderstandings I should clarify:
1. You're absolutely right about Graeber's definition of "bullshit jobs" - I'm quite familiar with his work. I was using it as a passing reference in the context of time sovereignty, not attempting to redefine or fully explore his concept. The broader point about economic agency and time control stands regardless of whether we're talking about bullshit jobs, shit jobs, or any other type of work arrangement.
2. Regarding the Supreme Court - yes, the intention behind lifetime appointments is well documented. However, the article's focus was on measuring democratic accountability in practice, not debating the theoretical foundations. The current reality is that we have a system where significant economic decisions are made by unaccountable actors, regardless of the original constitutional intent.
3. On blockchain vs. cryptocurrency - I think you may be conflating two distinct technologies here. While crypto mining can indeed be environmentally problematic, enterprise blockchain solutions (like those from IBM, VMware, and AWS) use entirely different consensus mechanisms that don't require energy-intensive mining. My suggestion about blockchain was specifically about leveraging distributed ledger technology for transparency, not about cryptocurrency mining.
The article was meant to propose new ways of measuring economic agency while assuming readers would be familiar with many of these underlying concepts. I tried to keep it focused on the core metrics rather than diving into every technical detail or historical context.
Thank You, Claude, for taking the time to engage with my - admittedly scattershot - though patterns. Can you recommend any good books on Time Sovereignty?
The cobra effect is also known as the Goodhart's Law that was penned by the British economist Charles Goodhart. The adage goes by "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure". Teaching to the test is another example.
Nice! Somebody better call 911 because Dave is bringing the hot fire 🚒🚒🚒
(I wonder what Claude would say to that 😅)
Snakes In The Grass indeed!
I have had the inkling of a similar idea so it’s great to see that you’ve actually developed this index. I particularly loved the first AC: measure with existing available data. That is often my battle cry when I approach a new problem
or role.
I will stay tuned for future developments and iterations. I hope someone with the matching skill set and enthusiasm takes this framework forward in a public space/dashboard.
Super interesting ideas presented here, David. I will be giving this one a second read with time for reflection.
I think your are on the right track here, and I had some thoughts:
1) I think the term "Bullshit Job" (I read the book) was intended differently by David Graeber. He used it to mean, not necessarily a job where you can slack off (though sometimes this might also be true), but a job for which even the person who does the job cannot tell you how it benefits society. I think it has more to do with alienation and a lack of meaning, than lack of demandingness. An overly demanding job Graeber simply calls a "shit job." But, if a person has economic agency from other sources, they probably wouldn't agree to work a Bullshit Job.
https://strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/
2) While I think the current Supreme Court is problematic, I also think the judiciary branch was intended to be appointed rather than elected, so that's judges wouldn't have to be "political" in the sense of having to campaign for election. I seem to remember having too write an essay about Federalist papers No. 78 at some point. See:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-judicial-branch/#:~:text=Judges%20and%20Justices%20serve%20no,not%20electoral%20or%20political%20concerns.
3) Crypto mining currently generates lots of emissions. How could so much blockchain technology be setup so as not to add to sosrent drains on the environment?
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221282712300094X
Thank you for your thoughtful engagement with the article! I appreciate you taking the time to dive into these topics, though I think there may be some misunderstandings I should clarify:
1. You're absolutely right about Graeber's definition of "bullshit jobs" - I'm quite familiar with his work. I was using it as a passing reference in the context of time sovereignty, not attempting to redefine or fully explore his concept. The broader point about economic agency and time control stands regardless of whether we're talking about bullshit jobs, shit jobs, or any other type of work arrangement.
2. Regarding the Supreme Court - yes, the intention behind lifetime appointments is well documented. However, the article's focus was on measuring democratic accountability in practice, not debating the theoretical foundations. The current reality is that we have a system where significant economic decisions are made by unaccountable actors, regardless of the original constitutional intent.
3. On blockchain vs. cryptocurrency - I think you may be conflating two distinct technologies here. While crypto mining can indeed be environmentally problematic, enterprise blockchain solutions (like those from IBM, VMware, and AWS) use entirely different consensus mechanisms that don't require energy-intensive mining. My suggestion about blockchain was specifically about leveraging distributed ledger technology for transparency, not about cryptocurrency mining.
The article was meant to propose new ways of measuring economic agency while assuming readers would be familiar with many of these underlying concepts. I tried to keep it focused on the core metrics rather than diving into every technical detail or historical context.
Thank You, Claude, for taking the time to engage with my - admittedly scattershot - though patterns. Can you recommend any good books on Time Sovereignty?
Dave here: my wife just read SAVING TIME and highly recommends it:
https://a.co/d/fSGEIDr
Thanks Dave!
I'm so glad someone who is not an economist is taking to the sham that is GDP. Even Kuznets thought it was a temporary idea.
Lamestream economists just don't get how broken the current measurements are.
The cobra effect is also known as the Goodhart's Law that was penned by the British economist Charles Goodhart. The adage goes by "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure". Teaching to the test is another example.